This document summarizes various subfields of psychology and career opportunities within each subfield. It discusses practice-oriented subfields like clinical/counseling psychology, school psychology, legal/forensic psychology, health psychology, and sports psychology. It also outlines research-focused areas such as biopsychology, cognitive neuropsychology, industrial-organizational psychology, experimental/quantitative psychology, social/consumer psychology, developmental psychology, and educational psychology. For each subfield, the document provides examples of career opportunities that can be pursued with a bachelor's degree or graduate degree.

1. Careers in Psychology by Subfield
Source: Kuther and Morgan (2020)

2. Practice Oriented
Subfields
Note- to practice and/or do research a graduate degree is usually
required

3. Clinical and
Counseling
Psychology
• Human services worker
• Social worker
• Substance abuse counselor
Opportunities with a Bachelors
• Practitioner
• Program development and evaluation
• Administration
Opportunities with a graduate degree

4. Subfields
of
Psychology
Primary Difference- Clinical
Psychologists tend to work with
more severe problems and disorders
Counseling and Clinical Psychology
Both focus on
helping people
with problems
Do similar things
in their practice
Work in similar
Settings

5. School Psychology
Opportunities with a Bachelors
•Teacher
•Childcare worker
•Teacher’s Assistant
•Early Childhood Behavior Specialist
Opportunities with a graduate degree
•School Psychologist
•School
•Private practice
•Clinics or hospitals
•School Counselor
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6. Legal &
Forensic
Psychology
• Criminal profiling
• Specific activity
• Interested students should pursue a
career in law enforcement
• Legal Psychology- merging of
psychology and law
• Forensic psychology
• A psychologist who works within the
legal system
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7. Legal &
Forensic
Psychology
• Opportunities with a Bachelors
• Police officer
• Correctional officer
• Juvenile detention worker
• Probation and Parole Officer
• Forensic Interviewer
• Opportunities with a Graduate
degree
• Correctional psychologist
• Forensic examiner
• Police psychology
• Trial consultant
• Politics and public policy
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8. Health psychology
• Recreational therapist
• Occupational therapy assistant
• Physical therapy assistant
• Health educator
Opportunities with a Bachelors
• Academic and research settings
• Service delivery settings
• Public health settings
Opportunities with a graduate degree
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9. Sports
Psychology
• Opportunities with a Bachelors
• Fitness instructor
• Recreation worker
• Sport instructors and coaches
• Physical education teacher
• Athletic Trainer
• Sports reporter
• Opportunities with a graduate degree
• Sports psychologist
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10. Research and Applied
Research Fields in
Psychology

11. Biopsychology,
Cognitive
Neuropsychology,
and Clinical
Neuropsychology
Biopsychology- the relationship
between biology and behavior
Cognitive neuropsychology- aims
to understand cognition from the
perspective of the brain
Clinical neuropsychology-
integrates biopsychology and
clinical psychology

12. Biopsychology, Cognitive Neuropsychology,
and Clinical Neuropsychology
• Opportunities with a Bachelors
• Science technician
• Psychiatric technician
• Medical or lab technician
• Pharmacy technician
• Opportunities with a graduate degree
• Pharmaceutical and biotechnological research
• Practice
• Clinical neuropsychologists are often involved in diagnosis and
assessment
• Goals of a neuopsych evaluation
1. Localize and diagnosis cortical damage or dysfunction
2. Facilitate patient treatment and rehabilitation
3. Identify presence of milk disturbance
4. Exam brain dysfunction
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13. Industrial-Organizational (I/O)- how
individuals behave in work settings
Cognitive psychology- study human
thought
Human factors- also called
Engineering psychology, is concerned
with the interaction between people
and their environment
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14. I/O,
Cognitive,
& Human
Factors
Opportunities with a Bachelors
• Human resources
• Commercial or Industrial design
• Administrative Assistant
• Manager or project manager
Opportunities with a graduate degree
• Human resources professional
• Consultant
• Usability specialist
• Design Psychologist/Environmental Designer

15. Subfields of
Psychology
• Experimental-
understanding the
process of conducting
research and applying
research methodology
to a variety of topics.
• Looks at ways to
research a topic
• Quantitative-
specialize in
quantifying or
measuring human
behavior
• Psychometrics
• Mathematical
psychology
• Might develop a new
statistical analysis

16. Experimental and
Quantitative Psychology
• Underwriter
• Computer programmer, developer
• Computer support specialist
• Budget Analyst
• Behavior technician
Opportunities
with a
Bachelors
• Board certified behavior analyst
• Operations research analyst
• Data architect or database administrator
• Actuary
• Financial analyst
Opportunities
with a
graduate
degree

17. Subfields of Psychology
• Social- how people interact with each other and
how they are influenced by the social
environment.
• Consumer- how make decisions on purchasing
products and services
• Community- understanding the quality of life of
individuals within groups, organizations,
institutions, and society.

18. Social and Consumer Psychology
• Opportunities with a Bachelors
degree
• Advertising
• Real Estate
• Public Relations
• Social media coordinator
• Opportunities with a Graduate
degree
• Marketing
• Advertising, Public relations,
sales management
• Data mining

19. Subfields of
Psychology
• Developmental-
understanding and
optimizing human
development across the
life span.
• Educational- explores
issues that help or
hinder
learning. Focuses on
understanding how
humans learn.
• School- focus on
fostering the
intellectual, emotional,
educational, and social
development of
children in academic
settings (on an
individual level).

20. Developmental
Psychology
• Opportunities with a Bachelors
• Gerontology service
coordinator
• Child life specialist
• Student Activities director
• Opportunities with a graduate
degree
• Grant director
• Foundation director
• Developmental consultant to
products and media
• Applied developmental
psychologist
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21. Resources & References
Dunn, D. & Halonen, J. (2020). The psychology major's companion:
Everything you need to know to get where you want to go (2nd
ed.). Worth Publishers.
Kuther, T. L., & Morgan, R. D. (2020). Careers in psychology: Opportunities in a changing world (5th ed.). Sage.